Ryan savors tax bill win, but coming fights could roil GOP

WASHINGTON (AP) - Speaker Paul Ryan has wanted to change the federal tax system since he arrived in Congress in 1999. So he couldn't resist a victory lap when the House approved the Republican $1.5 trillion tax bill twice this week, happily gaveling each vote to a close and announcing its passage.

Most agree the measure's approval marked a personal achievement for the Wisconsin Republican.

But Washington is obsessed with political survival and the next issue, not the last one. That means the coming few days and the 2018 election year loom as a complicated and risky time for Ryan.

He's going to need to cut deals with Democrats on spending and immigration, which will anger conservatives.

And he faces 2018 midterm elections in which Republicans could lose House and Senate control.